Tuesday, July 18, 2017

You Opened My Heart

He lives in Washington DC. He is a professor teaching business in Georgetown University. He was willing to put on tefillin and to read the Shema but then wanted to take them off. Instead of helping him to take them off, I gave him my usual instructions how to pray for his family … to thank G-d …. Pray for the Jews in danger, and he stood there a long time with his eyes closed.

When he finished and took off the tefillin he thanked me. I asked, "What for?"

He looked totally different than he did before he prayed. His face lighted up, "You showed me how to open my heart. I feel wonderful and thankful. It was a very loving experience. You taught me to direct my heart to Heaven."

There were a few young Chabad bouchurim (yeshiva students) helping with tefillin that afternoon and they heard him rave about his experience. It was so timely as the students are being taught to just have the Jew to put on tefillin and get the physical mitzvah without any concern whatsoever for "directing their hearts to Heaven."

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comments:

>>the students are being taught to just have the Jew to put on tefillin and get the physical mitzvah without any concern whatsoever for "directing their hearts to Heaven<<

This is shocking as the Alter Rebbe (Chabad's founder) in Tanya says the physical mitzvah without Kavanah is like a bird without wings. The two wings that carry the bird (mitzvah) to heaven are the Kavanah of Love and Awe of HaShem.

To the above Unknown - When someone such as this person has no connection to his Yiddishkeit, it is enough, at first, to have him don Tefillin and that, as we see here, leads him to acknowledge and realize Our Father in Heaven and brings him joy. This was just the first step. Sometimes, it is the one that puts on Tefillin every day and leads a good Jewish life, bli ayin hara, who doesn't appreciate or has the kavanah when he is davening. Only H' knows the hearts and minds of man.

To Unknown above. Agreed. But by asking them to pray to HaShem >>to pray for his family … to thank G-d …. Pray for the Jews in danger<< Reb Gutman opens the dormant Love and Fear of HaShem in their hearts, giving wings to their mitzvah.